1. Technical Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to telecommunications switches and, in particular, to the use of a telecommunications switch to provide Internet communications access and services.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a tremendous amount of interest these days in acquiring access to both the Internet and Internet related services. The most common mechanism used by persons to access the Internet is to contract with an Internet service provider through whom a communications connection to the Internet is obtained. Typically this connection is accomplished through the use of the existing public switched telephone network (PSTN). The person desiring Internet access, and who also subscribes to an Internet service provider, simply uses his or her computer (with a modem, if necessary) to call the Internet service provider, with that call then being routed through the public switched telephone network and the communications functionality of the service provider to an Internet access point (edge router).
It is well known, however, that data communications in general, and Internet type communications in particular, are wasteful of the limited communications resources of the telecommunications network. This is because the public switched telephone network comprises a circuit switched network, and thus each telecommunications connection between a person and their Internet service provider requires a separate physical communications link. Furthermore, this reserved connection must be maintained throughout the length of the call even though the data comprising the carried communication passes over the link on an infrequent basis. In fact, tens of seconds, if not minutes, may pass between subsequent data communications over the reserved circuit switched connection. This is because minor amounts of time are needed to convey the data, while relatively substantial amounts of time are expended in on-line human review of the conveyed information. It would be preferred if the telecommunications connections over the public switched telephone network carrying data communications could be more efficiently utilized. Such improved efficiency has application not only in providing users with telecommunications connections to their respective Internet service providers, but also in facilitating data communications between persons over the public switched telephone network itself.